Symposium 11: Military TBI: Neural and Clinical Correlates of Cognitive Function

Summary abstract:

This symposium will highlight recent advances in understanding, assessment, and treatment of the effect traumatic brain injury has on cognitive functioning in military Service Members and Veterans. Since 2000, U.S. Service Members have sustained over 450,000 brain injuries, the majority of which are mild. Although TBI mechanisms and characteristics among Service Members can differ from civilians in significant ways, research being conducted at Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs sites to address this problem can also yield benefits to civilians with TBI. Four presentations will focus on various aspects of TBI evaluation and treatment based on findings from their own research. Dr. Mark Ettenhofer will present findings relating to promising new eye tracking measures and their relationship to standardized cognitive test results among Service Members with mild traumatic brain injury. Next, Dr. Victoria Merritt will examine the role of symptom attribution on treatment-seeking Veterans with a remote history of traumatic brain injury. In particular, Dr. Merritt will be examining both self-reported symptoms as well as performance on objective neurocognitive tests. Dr. Jason Bailie will describe an ongoing study comparing a novel approach to cognitive rehabilitation, Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART), to traditional cognitive rehabilitation interventions in Active Duty Service Members. The results of this study have significant implications for treatment of all individuals with chronic symptoms following mTBI, regardless of military status. Finally, Dr. Jared Rowland will present findings on the influence of mild traumatic brain injury and blast exposure on the relationship between brain function, cognitive outcomes, and symptom severity in a sample of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans. This study will demonstrate how the relationship between aspects of the functional connectome and cognitive function are changed by TBI and blast. Overall, these studies highlight novel approaches to the understanding, assessment, and treatment of TBI being implemented in the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs that have high applicability to the civilian population.